Herschel Park
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Herschel Park
Herschel Park is a public park in Upton, a suburb of Slough in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Slough Borough Council. It is in two adjacent areas. The larger area of in the north is a Local Nature Reserve. The more formal area in the north is a Grade II listed park. Geography and site The parkland has two lakes and ponds. The larger lake features an island planted with mature trees. The park also features a set of mature specimen and ornamental trees. History The park has been in existence from at least 1843, when James Bedborough bought the land in the area and used it to built twenty-nine terraced houses and large villas that looked out over the park. It is believed that Sir Joseph Paxton laid out the original park grounds. The park when opened was called Upton Park. In 1949, the park was sold to Slough Borough Council. In 1952 the council changed its name from Upton Park Pleasure Grounds to Herschel Park, after the astronomer Sir William Herschel. In 1962–63, Slou ...
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Upton, Slough
Upton is a suburb of Slough, in the Slough district, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. Until the local government reforms of 1974 it was in Buckinghamshire. It was one of the villages that developed into the town. History The Domesday Survey of 1086 refers to Upton, and a wood for 200 pigs, worth £15. Upton took its name from its situation at the top of the slope from the river terrace — the various levels in the area having been formed in the Ice-Age. The ancient parish, and the civil parish until 1894, included Chalvey and Slough, originally hamlets, and was formally known as Upton-cum-Chalvey. In 1894 the new civil parish of Slough was formed from the parish. In 1895 a detached part of the parish was transferred to Gerrards Cross, and in 1900 and 1901 the rump of the parish was divided between the neighbouring parishes of Eton, Langley Marish, Slough and Wexham. The ecclesiastical parish is still known as Upton-cum-Chalvey. Church Upton's Norman Church, ...
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Comma Butterfly
''Polygonia'' (from Greek πολύς - ''polys'', "many" and γωνία - ''gōnia'', "angle") is a genus of butterflies with a conspicuous white mark on the underside of each hindwing, hence the common name comma. They also have conspicuous angular notches on the outer edges of their forewings, hence the other common name anglewing butterflies. The related genus ''Nymphalis'' also includes some anglewing species; ''Polygonia'' is sometimes classified as a subgenus of ''Nymphalis''. Many members of ''Polygonia'' hibernate as adults. Species include:Wahlberg, N. et al. (2009)Timing major conflict between mitochondrial and nuclear genes in species relationships of ''Polygonia'' butterflies (Nymphalidae: Nymphalini).''BMC Evolutionary Biology'' 9:92. * ''Polygonia c-album'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – comma * '' Polygonia c-aureum'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – Asian comma * ''Polygonia comma'' (Harris, 1842) – eastern comma * '' Polygonia egea'' (Cramer, 1775) – southern comma * '' Polygon ...
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European Robin
The European robin (''Erithacus rubecula''), known simply as the robin or robin redbreast in Great Britain & Ireland, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that belongs to the chat subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family. About in length, the male and female are similar in colouration, with an orange breast and face lined with grey, brown upper-parts and a whitish belly. It is found across Europe, east to Western Siberia and south to North Africa; it is sedentary in most of its range except the far north. The term ''robin'' is also applied to some birds in other families with red or orange breasts. These include the American robin (''Turdus migratorius''), a thrush, and the Australasian robins of the family Petroicidae, the relationships of which are unclear. Taxonomy, etymology and systematics The European robin was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Motacilla rubecula''. Its specific epith ...
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Eurasian Blue Tit
The Eurasian blue tit (''Cyanistes caeruleus'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognisable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size. Eurasian blue tits, usually resident and non-migratory birds, are widespread and a common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and the western Palearctic in deciduous or mixed woodlands with a high proportion of oak. They usually nest in tree holes, although they easily adapt to nest boxes where necessary. Their main rival for nests and in the search for food is the larger and more common great tit. The Eurasian blue tit prefers insects and spiders for its diet. Outside the breeding season, they also eat seeds and other vegetable-based foods. The birds are famed for their acrobatic skills, as they can hold on to the outermost branches of trees and shrubs and hang upside down when looking for food. Taxonomy The Eurasian blue tit was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th ...
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Common Blackbird
The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a local species. It breeds in Europe, Asiatic Russia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. It has a number of subspecies across its large range; a few of the Asian subspecies are sometimes considered to be full species. Depending on latitude, the common blackbird may be resident, partially migratory, or fully migratory. The adult male of the common blackbird (''Turdus merula merula'', the nominate subspecies), which is found throughout most of Europe, is all black except for a yellow eye-ring and bill and has a rich, melodious song; the adult female and juvenile have mainly dark brown plumage. This species breeds in woods and gardens, building a neat, cup-shaped nest, bound toge ...
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Canada Goose
The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is occasionally found during migration across the Atlantic in northern Europe. It has been introduced to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory; often found on or close to fresh water, the Canada goose is also common in brackish marshes, estuaries, and lagoons. Extremely adept at living in human-altered areas, Canada geese have established breeding colonies in urban and cultivated habitats, which provide food and few natural predators. The success of this common park species has led to its often being considered a pest species because of its excrement, its depredation of crops, its n ...
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Mallard
The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae. Males have purple patches on their wings, while the females (hens or ducks) have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black or iridescent blue feathers called a speculum on their wings; males especially tend to have blue speculum feathers. The mallard is long, of which the body makes up around two-thirds the length. The wingspan is and the bill is long. It is often slightly heavier than most other dabbling ducks, weighing . Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social animals preferring to congregate in groups or flocks of varyi ...
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Mandarin Duck
The mandarin duck (''Aix galericulata'') is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is medium-sized, at long with a wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus ''Aix''. is an Ancient Greek word which was used by Aristotle to refer to an unknown diving bird, and is the Latin for a wig, derived from , a cap or bonnet. Outside of its native range, the mandarin duck has a large introduced population in the British Isles and Western Europe, with additional smaller introductions in North America. Description The adult male has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". The male's breast is purple with two vertical white bars, the flanks ruddy, and he has two orange feathers at the back (large feathers that stick up similar to boat sails). The female is similar to the female wood duck, with a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye, but is paler below, has a sm ...
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European Green Woodpecker
The European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis'') is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the western Palearctic but in Spain and Portugal it is replaced by the similar Iberian green woodpecker (''Picus sharpei''). The European green woodpecker spends much of its time feeding on ants on the ground and does not often 'drum' on trees like other woodpecker species. Though its vivid green and red plumage is particularly striking, it is a shy bird, and is more often heard than seen, drawing attention with its loud calls. A nest hole is excavated in a tree; four to six eggs are laid which hatch after 19–20 days. Taxonomy The European green woodpecker was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under its current binomial name ''Picus viridis''. The type lo ...
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Libellula Depressa
''Libellula depressa'', the broad-bodied chaser or broad-bodied darter,Hart. M., et al, (1978), ''The Naturetrail Omnibus'', London: Usborne Publishing Limited, page 157 is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe and central Asia. It is very distinctive with a very broad flattened abdomen, four wing patches and, in the male, the abdomen becomes pruinose blue. Identification The male and female have a broad, flattened abdomen which is brown with yellow patches down the sides. In the male the abdomen develops a blue pruinosity that covers the brown colour. Both fore and hind wings have a dark patch at the base. Both the male and female have broad antehumeral stripes. The average wingspan is approximately 70 mm. ''L. depressa'' is very distinctive and should not be confused with any other dragonflies in the region. Distribution and habitat ''L. depressa'' is found in central and southern Europe, central Asia and the Middle East. It range extends northwards to ...
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Meadow Brown
The meadow brown (''Maniola jurtina'') is a butterfly found in the Palearctic realm. Its range includes Europe south of 62°N, Russia eastwards to the Urals, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, North Africa and the Canary Islands. The larvae feed on grasses. Description There is marked sexual dimorphism in this species. The upperside of the male is uniformly light brown with a black ocellus centered white at the apex of the forewing, while the female has a tawny patch more or less extended around this ocella. The underside forewing is ochre-colored bordered with dark beige with the same ocelli at the apex in the male, while the hindwing is greyish to brown with a more or less orange band in the female. The males are also much more active and range far about, while females fly less and often may not move away from the area where they grew up. Description in Seitz Above dark brown: the apical ocellus minutely centred with white, being in the male bordered with dull dark yellow, and standing ...
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Chorthippus Parallelus
''Pseudochorthippus parallelus'' (often known by its synonym ''Chorthippus parallelus''), the meadow grasshopper, is a common species of grasshopper in the tribe Gomphocerini. It is found in non-arid grasslands throughout the well vegetated areas of Europe and some adjoining areas of Asia. It is a well-studied organism in the discipline of Evolutionary biology and was an early and important model system for the study of European phylogeography. Distribution The range of the Meadow Grasshopper extends from the Atlantic coast of Europe, including the British Isles, to the Urals. It is found from Scandinavia in the north to southern Spain and Anatolia in the south. It prefers moist vegetation and in southern regions is typically found in river valleys and at altitude (up to approx 2000m), not being found in arid areas. Physical appearance Females grow to approximately and are larger and less active than males that grow to approximately . Both sexes are flightless. In femal ...
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